26th June, 1870.—­Now my people failed me; so, with only three attendants, Susi, Chuma, and Gardner, I started off to the north-west for the Lualaba.  The numbers of running rivulets to be crossed were surprising, and at each, for some forty yards, the path had been worked by the feet of passengers into adhesive mud:  we crossed fourteen in one day—­some thigh deep; most of them run into the Liya, which we crossed, and it flows to the Lualaba.  We passed through many villages, for the paths all lead through human dwellings.  Many people presented bananas, and seemed surprised when I made a small return gift; one man ran after me with a sugar-cane; I paid for lodgings too:  here the Arabs never do.

28th June, 1870.—­The driver ants were in millions in some part of the way; on this side of the continent they seem less fierce than I have found them in the west.

29th June, 1870.—­At one village musicians with calabashes, having holes in them, flute-fashion, tried to please me by their vigorous acting, and by beating drums in time.

30th June, 1870.—­We passed through the nine villages burned for a single string of beads, and slept in the village of Malola.

July, 1870.—­While I was sleeping quietly here, some trading Arabs camped at Nasangwa’s, and at dead of night one was pinned to the earth by a spear; no doubt this was in revenge for relations slain in the forty mentioned:  the survivors now wished to run a muck in all directions against the Manyuema.

When I came up I proposed to ask the chief if he knew the assassin, and he replied that he was not sure of him, for he could only conjecture who it was; but death to all Manyuemas glared from the eyes of half-castes and slaves.  Fortunately, before this affair was settled in their way, I met Mohamad Bogharib coming back from Kasonga’s, and he joined in enforcing peace:  the traders went off, but let my three people know, what I knew long before, that they hated having a spy in me on their deeds.  I told some of them who were civil tongued that ivory obtained by bloodshed was unclean evil—­“unlucky” as they say:  my advice to them was, “Don’t shed human blood, my friends; it has guilt not to be wiped off by water.”  Off they went; and afterwards the bloodthirsty party got only one tusk and a half, while another party, which avoided shooting men, got fifty-four tusks!

From Mohamad’s people I learned that the Lualaba was not in the N.W. course I had pursued, for in fact it flows W.S.W. in another great bend, and they had gone far to the north without seeing it, but the country was exceedingly difficult from forest and water.  As I had already seen, trees fallen across the path formed a breast-high wall which had to be climbed over:  flooded rivers, breast and neck deep, had to be crossed, the mud was awful, and nothing but villages eight or ten miles apart.

In the clearances around these villages alone could the sun be seen.  For the first time in my life my feet failed me, and now having but three attendants it would have been unwise to go further in that direction.  Instead of healing quietly as heretofore, when torn by hard travel, irritable-eating ulcers fastened on both feet; and I limped back to Bambarre on 22nd.